Traslated by Andrés Martínez Forero
Things are happening here — “Bogotá, My City, My Home”! We are building strategies and taking action to ensure that all women in the city can fully enjoy their rights. The Time Use Initiative has named Bogotá the World Capital of Time Policies for 2025–2026—a title that celebrates the city's sustained efforts to advance women’s rights, especially the right to time.
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This recognition puts Bogotá on the global map for initiatives like the Care System, the Bogotá Metro, and gender-inclusive urban planning—advances that show how saving women time also means creating opportunities, strengthening autonomy, and improving quality of life.
Key achievements support this award—starting with the Public Policy for Women and Gender Equity, which reached 74.97% implementation in just five years. Bogotá’s Care System is another cornerstone. In 2024 alone, it welcomed delegations from Brazil, Chile, Sierra Leone, the United States, Denmark, and Switzerland, as well as multilateral organizations like UN Women, the World Bank, the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, and Bloomberg Philanthropies. These efforts have helped expose time poverty, redistribute caregiving responsibilities, and expand women’s participation in public life.
By becoming the first Latin American city to receive this title, Bogotá strengthens its position as a global leader in time and care policies. Today, the world is watching a Global South capital drive progress on equity, social innovation, and well-being—with visible, measurable results.
Bogotá now stands alongside cities like Barcelona, Strasbourg, Milan, and Bolzano—each recognized for advancing time-use policies. It also marks a national milestone as the only Colombian city with this distinction.
In September, the city will host the International Forum Women’s Time: Gender and City-Building, led by Bogotá’s Secretariat for Women. The event will shine a global spotlight on Bogotá’s bold commitment to women’s rights, care infrastructure, and inclusive urban development—reaffirming its role as a global epicenter for the right to time.
The Secretariat for Women is leading the organization of the Forum while also driving the city’s public policy and Care System. As Secretary Laura Tami Leal stated, “Guaranteeing women’s rights is Bogotá’s ongoing commitment, and especially the commitment of this Secretariat.” Her words capture the city’s institutional focus on equity, time, care, and urban transformation—an approach that now positions Bogotá as a global standard-bearer for the right to time.
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*This article was created using information provided by the Bogotá’s International Relations Office and curated by a journalist from Portal Bogotá. For suggestions, questions, or more information, visit Bogotá Te Escucha: https://bogota.gov.co/sdqs/
